Looking to enroll your child in our Hawks class? Please read this exciting update!
By popular request, all Hawks groups (children entering 1st grade-4th grade in September 2024) will go from 9am to 3pm every day starting summer 2024! All other groups (Sparrows, Robins, and the Sparrow-Robins combo group at Lincoln Road) will maintain a 9am-1pm schedule.
Summer 2024 Details
Our mission is to inspire a connection to the outdoors, encourage a love and respect for the natural world, & help children build confidence by supporting and promoting their own ideas & interests. Our curriculum evolves from the the interests, ideas, & inquiries of our students and we are inspired by the weather, plants, & creatures we happen upon each day. The benefits of time spent in nature are proven to have a strong & positive influence over emotional well being, physical & cognitive growth, & social connection. We want to instill the idea that we are all part of something bigger and no matter our age, we can actively participate in taking care of each other and the world around us.
Our summer session runs for 8 weeks, beginning on Monday, June 17th, 2024 and ending on Friday, August 9th, 2024. Families may choose which weeks they would like to register their child.
Classes are held entirely in Prospect Park, with the following program options:
All classes are mixed age & grouped into the following 3 categories:
Sparrows: Children age 2 years - 3 years
Robins: Children entering Pre-K or K in September 2024
Hawks: Children entering 1st grade - 4th grade in September 2024
Teacher-to-Child Ratio:
Brooklyn Nature Days aims to ensure that each group is balanced according to developmental needs.
Sparrows: maintains a ratio of 1 teacher for every 4 children (groups capped at 8 children)
Robins: maintains a ratio of 1 teacher for every 4-5 children (groups capped at 8-10 children)
Hawks: maintain a ratio of 1 teacher for every 5 children (groups capped at 10 children)
Our philosophy focuses on unstructured free play & exploration, as well as open-ended use of tools & materials. Our low teacher-to-child ratio allows for adults to support small group, child-led projects and adventures.
Daily Routine & Activities
Our day begins with a leisurely walk through Prospect Park to a location where our group will play & explore together for the day. Our spot in the park changes regularly which allows us to experience various landscapes: hills, trees, plants, fallen logs, and rocks. Our changing landscape inspires numerous games and activities. Upon a group’s arrival inside the park, we come together for morning greetings, discuss our location for the day, tools & materials available, and then begin our adventures with free play.
Free play allows children to immerse themselves in and fully explore our natural surroundings. Our varied offerings of tools and materials (buckets, mortar and pestles, magnifying glasses, spray bottles, rope, natural clay) inspire each child to uniquely connect and create amidst nature, following their own ideas. Dramatic play, games, experiments, and discoveries ensure the group and teachers work together as a team - mud pie kitchens, tree house forts, pebble towers, leaf crowns, log trains, fairy houses, and worm collections… anything is possible!
Our older students engage in more expansive explorations of the park, focusing on developing skills like mapping, cardinal directions, and compass skills. We offer nature journaling, detailed plant & animal identification, and access to more advanced tools as well as ensuring ample time for unstructured free play.
We take a break together for snack time and lunch. We eat together, read storybooks, and exchange lively conversations.
After re-energizing with snack, we continue to explore the park. Our walks give us opportunities to observe birds and other native creatures out and about, including hawks, robins, turtles, chipmunks, and blue herons. Focusing on our five senses, we search for waterfalls and take the time to examine and identify trees and plants, including plantain leaves and burdock plants, and collect sweet gum seed pods, clovers, and dandelions. We end our day with a picnic lunch and a farewell circle.
Brooklyn Nature Days meets outside in all kinds of summer weather - sun, clouds, and rain. We use the trees to shade us from the sun and build shelters to cozy up during the rain. In the event of dangerous weather such as passing thunderstorms, we move to a covered park structure until the storm passes. Families will be made aware of location changes as far in advance as possible. For days where the forecast calls for severe weather, classes will be moved to an indoor location. Please see our updated inclement weather policy under the section titled Tuition, Discount, Payment, and Transfer Policies below.
Dates & Minimum Enrollment Requirements:
Our summer session runs for 8 weeks, beginning on Monday, June 17th, 2024 and ending on Friday, August 9th, 2024. Families may choose which weeks they would like to register their child.
There is a 2 week minimum enrollment required (weeks need not be consecutive). If you accidentally enroll in 1 week only your enrollment may be canceled so please be sure to look over your selections carefully.
Summer classes are offered on a weekly basis and run Monday - Friday for the following 8 weeks:
1. week of 06/17 (4 day week, price prorated)
2. week of 06/24
3. week of 07/01 (3 day week, price prorated)
4. week of 07/08
5. week of 07/15
6. week of 07/22
7. week of 07/29
8. week of 08/05
Drop off and pick up locations are inside the park as follows:
Grand Army Plaza: Sparrows & Robins classes
Northern Tip of the Long Meadow near Endale Arch.
Prospect Park West and 3rd Street: Hawks group only
Enter the park at the 3rd street entrance (as if you are headed to the 3rd street playground). When the path forks around the playground keep to the path on the left. Cross the bike loop and walk down the short stone path & you’ll find us at the edge of the Longmeadow.
Prospect Park West and 9th Street: Sparrows & Robins classes
Pass the monument at the 9th street entrance. You will see our groups set up on the grass between Harmony Playground & The Bandshell.
Vanderbilt Avenue and Prospect Park South West: Sparrows, Robins, and Hawks classes
Just outside of the Vanderbilt playground
Lincoln Road & Ocean Avenue: Sparrow-Robin combo class
Enter at the Lincoln road entrance to the park, pass the playground and cross the bike lane & you’ll find us just before the tunnel begins towards the boathouse.
IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING LINCOLN ROAD DROP OFF: This location offers 1 single class of mixed-age Sparrows and Robins age children. This means it is a mixed-age class for children ages 2-5 (entering Kindergarten in Sept. 2024)
***This option is available at our Lincoln road drop off only
Our classes, and Prospect Park itself, is on the land of the Munsee Lenape people. The proper name of New York City is the Munsee word, Lenapehoking, which means “Land of the Lenape.”
Learn more here.
Schedule & Cost:
Sparrows: 9am-1pm
Children age 2 years - 3 years
Robins: 9am-1pm
Children entering Pre-K or K in September 2024
Hawks: 9am-3pm ***NEW HOURS***
Children entering 1st grade - 4th grade in September 2024
The price listed below is for one child for each individual week attended. Families must provide a peanut and tree nut free snack & lunch for their child.
Sparrows and Robins: 9am-1pm schedule
5 days a week (Monday-Friday) - $535 per week, per child
Please note exceptions below for prorated weeks:
week of 06/17 (4 day week, $428 per child)
week of 07/01 (3 day week, $321 per child)
Hawks: 9am-3pm schedule***NEW***
5 days a week (Monday-Friday) - $775 per week, per child
Please note exceptions below for prorated weeks:
week of 06/17 (4 day week, $620 per child)
week of 07/01 (3 day week, $465 per child)
There is a $100 registration fee per child for the summer session.
Our tuition ensures fair pay for our teachers and covers the cost of our supplies, materials, and administrative fees as well as land reparations based on recommendations from The Lenape Center. It also allows us to offer financial aid & sliding scale pricing for families that need it. If our program is cost-prohibitive to your family, please reach out to us at enrollment@brooklynnaturedays.com. In order to secure your spot, it is best to contact us at least 7 days before enrollment opens on February 1st, 2024.
Other important details regarding our summer session:
Families must provide a peanut and tree-nut free lunch & snack as well as 2 full bottles of water each day.
Families must enroll in a minimum of 2 weeks. Weeks need not be consecutive.
Updated Health Form and Immunizations are required for each child attending. All updated health forms must be submitted to Brooklyn Nature Days at least 5 business days before your child’s first scheduled class with us.
All enrollment requests are processed on a first-come-first-served basis via our Sawyer widget at the bottom of this page only. We do not process enrollment requests via email.
If you would like your child in the same group as another child, there’s a good chance we can make this happen! For this to happen, both children must be enrolled to the same location, schedule, and age group upon registration. Once successfully registered at the same location, schedule, and age group, please send us an email with your request at summer@brooklynnaturedays.com. Please note: both families must be copied on the email making this request. Once your request has been processed, we will follow up in writing with a confirmation.
Tuition, Discount, Payment, and Transfer Policies:
Please look over your selections carefully before submitting this enrollment form: Once registration and payment are submitted, all selections are final.
Registration fee: There is a $100 registration fee per child.
Schedule Change Fee: Please look over your selections carefully before submitting your summer registration. Once registration and payment are submitted, all selections are final. Any changes to scheduling are subject to availability and will incur a $85 schedule change fee.
Tuition is non-refundable and due in full when registering your child for summer classes. Families are responsible for checking to ensure dates of attendance are correct prior to submitting payment.
Families are responsible for the full balance due, regardless of the days their child actually attends.
No refunds, credits, or makeups will be given for classes missed, including those due to travel, illness, or schedule conflicts.
Late fees: A late payment fee in the amount of $25 will be applied to payments made 3 business days past due and a late payment fee in the amount of $50 will be applied to payments made 5 business days past due. Payment must be submitted by due date to secure your child’s spot in our classes
Inclement weather policy for summer:
***UPDATE*** With severe heat advisories and unsafe Air Quality Indexes becoming more common in the summer months, we have updated our inclement weather policy for Summer 2024. ***UPDATE***
In the event that we determine, through consistent monitoring of several weather apps and radars each day, that it is unsafe to hold class outdoors on a given day, we have arranged to hold full or partial classes at John Hus Moravian Church located at 153 Ocean Avenue near the Lincoln Road entrance to the park. On indoor days, our focus will still be on outdoor education. Nature-based art activities and games will be provided for our classes.
Please note: we are still an all-outdoor program and this arrangement is not for regular use or for rainy days/passing thunderstorms/heat that is not dangerous or severe. This part of our inclement weather policy will only be enacted if we determine that it is safe to hold class, but that it may be unsafe to be outside for long periods of time. Please ensure you have read and understand this policy, as it means you may be required to drop off or pick up your child from 153 Ocean Avenue on the rare occasion we need to use our emergency indoor location. Families who choose not to have their child join us at our indoor location should note there are no make-up days or refunds outside of this policy.
In the event of an inclement weather location change, families will be notified as early as possible (no later than 6am) on the day of class.
For unsafe heat indexes, we may also move the start of class an hour earlier so we can avoid the more intense heat of late afternoon. In these cases, we may start classes an hour earlier at 8am instead of 9am and end class an hour earlier. This means Sparrows and Robins will attend from 8am-12pm and our Hawks classes will run from 8am-2pm. As always, you will be notified as soon as possible (no later than 6am) via Brightwheel if we determine this shift necessary on a given day. Classes missed due to illness, Covid, travel, or change of plans will not be refunded.
Transfers: For our summer session only — Families who purchased week(s) they can no longer use may transfer those week(s) to another interested family. Families are solely responsible for finding another family to take their child's place, and are solely responsible for negotiating payment details and conditions with each other.
Brooklyn Nature Days is not responsible for any communication, agreements, or payments between families. Families, however, must ensure the new child is eligible for the program selected in regards to age. Partial week transfers and changes to days and times of attendance will not be honored.
Once an agreement between families has been finalized, Brooklyn Nature Days must be provided with the names and contact information of the new family within 5 business days prior to the start of their classes as our admin team needs time to process and confirm all roster changes and collect necessary paperwork (health forms) for all students attending our classes.
Many questions can be answered by visiting our our FAQ page. Please be sure to read the information on this page in its entirety before submitting your enrollment or emailing us with a question. Our tiny admin staff appreciates your cooperation 🐢
